Black Power Media

Occupy These…! Slavery and Abuse by Metaphor
Jared Ball

Of these recent occupations Bryan Bullock asked recently, “if Wall Street didn’t get a bailout, would there have been a bailout for the hood?”  And Kenyon Farrow described the “race problem” of these occupations and responded quite critically to the repeated use by White occupationists of the metaphor of slavery.  Both have added themselves to a growing number of those whose views of these occupations are justifiably cynical.  When Farrow described this abuse by metaphor he was also responding to a long history of literal Black suffering becoming metaphorical propaganda for White self-interest.  So yes, violence, as H. Rap Brown once said, may indeed be “as American as cherry pie,” but the use of Black suffering as a mechanism of White transcendence is as old as race itself and even predates the America for whom violence would become so essential.

Hearing of and seeing the White-held signs calling for an end of “our” enslavement by Wall Street is, in part, why more and more are looking to challenge the language and the focus of these White Occupy Wall Streeters.  The metaphor of an often misused metaphor demands it.  As Patricia Bradley has documented this metaphor of slavery became the leading tool of propaganda used by the White middle and upper classes to shape the public opinion of White colonists against England.  In one fell swoop their propaganda worked to aid in solidifying the status of enslavement to only Black people while only publicly discussing slavery as something forced upon themselves by the British.  Chief among these propagandists was the slave-owning Samuel Adams whose image now cleansed with the help of a beer brand brings new levels of appreciation for the Dave Chapelle Samuel Jackson beer parody.  “Yes they deserve to die! And I hope they burn in hell!”

So the growing number of darker critical voices of the occupations have centuries of metaphorical abuse to add to the physical and are correctly noting the similarities.  During his recent talk at Hampshire College former Black Liberation Army soldier Asanti Alston recalled his friend’s experience at an occupation of being shouted down as “divisive” for trying to focus attention on Black poverty and mass incarceration.  “Empire gets defensive,” he said, it has no time for critiques of racism.  It is this kind of increasing tension being reported in smaller darker circles that reminds of this history of abuse by metaphor.  White colonists not wanting to be reduced to the conditions of those they themselves enslaved adopted the denunciations of slavery by the British in precisely the same way White middle-class settlers today decry their own semi-step downward toward those darker people they themselves enslave and with whom they want nothing to do.  They don’t want to end slavery either, they just don’t want to be forced any closer to those truly defined, permanently, as the real enslaved.

So, in response, there are those now calling for an Occupy the Hood movement while others define their efforts as Hip-Hop Occupies in a Rise to Decolonize.  In fact, this group’s goal is to “embrace the term ‘occupation’ as it has been reclaimed by militant workers of color from Latin America (Oaxaca, Buenos Aires, South Korea, China, among other places) to describe their occupation of factories, schools and neighborhoods, to strike back against oppressive forces.”  Further, the Hip-Hop Occupies collective says that, “we fully endorse the ‘Decolonize’ framework as a necessary expansion…” That, “In the face of brutality in the legacy of capitalism, a system that relied upon the enslavement of African and Caribbean peoples, the genocide and displacement of Indigenous Peoples, and the violent seizure of lands for colonial profit, we embody a vision of intersectional social justice and self-determination.”

These are part, like the work of the Black Is Back Coalition, of still-not-dead embers of a global majority’s non-alignment with even liberal elements of the West.  These are the signs of what may yet prove to be the most (only?) redeeming value of these occupations; a radical, global and organized response led by the colonized to what can only be the incompleteness of “movements” led by Whites and liberals.  For as Alston also said, this “monster” called the “American way” and “democracy” must fall.  And its metaphors too.

For Black Agenda Radio I’m Jared Ball.  On the web go to BlackAgendaReport.com.

Dr. Jared A. Ball is an associate professor of communication studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore and is the author of I Mix What I Like! A Mixtape Manifesto (AK Press).  He can be found online at:IMIXWHATILIKE.COM.

Repatriation Online Course 101 Starts October 30th!

Course Description
Repatriation, by even the slightest stretch of one’s imagination, is a gargantuan endeavor. Complex because it is entangled with the ideals held by a people clinging desperately to the hope that home is as it once was a paradise innocent of the evil that now imposes itself on our reality and the fears that drain our brain. For without that hope, many of us would have died a final death many generations ago.

Repatriation, however, is most often anything but what we expect. Rather it can be a gruesome grinding process, a painful rebirthing and very often life-threatening. Our mental and spiritual return to the Way that was when we were innocent of such a world is a journey greater than the distance we travelled over seas. All too often we are discouraged by the obstacles, failing to see their purpose in our own evolution, which is kith and kin to Repatriation.
Our course will be a series of 5 discussions that will delve into all aspects of Repatriation. The sole objective is to better prepare your mind for the reality on the ground as it pertains to the logistics of relocating, the realities of it and the prospects for surviving and thriving. Some have asked, if it’s so much trouble, then why bother? It’s a good question only if you have a better alternative. This class is not for tourists.

Course Duration:

Sunday, October 30th, 2011 7:00-8:30 PM EST

Sunday, November 6th, 2011 7:00-8:30 PM EST

Sunday, November 13th, 2011 7:00-8:30 PM EST

Sunday, November 20th, 2011 7:00-8:30 PM EST

Sunday, November 27th, 2011 7:00-8:30 PM EST

Cost: $95.00

Course Outline:

Dispelling Notions
An appropriate definition of repatriation, tempering your greatest expectations, describing the challenges and benefits associated when travelling single, as a family, as a pensioner, health related challenges and preventative measures, caring for children or elders, giving birth, reliable health facilities, major health concerns, malaria, typhoid, A.I.D.S, buying food from the market and the necessity to grow, required work ethic

Logistics
Costs of relocation, including airfares, container charges, alternatives to a full container, cost of importing vehicle, optimal vehicles to import and why, What else to bring, what to leave. Dealing with the port. How to save and invest wisely upon arrival. Cost of living in Ghana, quality of education for your children, standard curriculum

Doing Business in Ghana
Prospects of employment, necessity of self-employment, the procedure for starting your own business, why start small, what about a Non Governmental Organization as an alternative, how does this procedure facilitate a residence permit, managing human resources, types of industries most conducive to our success, factors to be considered, such as an annual rate of inflation ranging around 18%

Right of Abode
Exposing the charade, clear picture of your legal status as a repatriate, what is the procedure for permanent residence, what’s the easiest route, how will the National Identification Scheme affect you, how this affects buying or leasing land, short term rentals, managing house help, dealing with security, cultural differences that may be shocking

Successful Repatriation
Acclimatization, socialization, mental stability and peace, personal security, finding your groove, humility as an asset, acceptance as a tool and overcoming as a necessity; Various ways one humbles, accepts, overcomes and yet remains in their own realm of high frequency

In actual fact, we can only provide a general outline of topics, but the range will go as far as your questions allow it. No question or topic is off limits and no time frame prohibitive. At the end of the course, I guarantee you will be more confident in your plans to repatriate. Any questions, please use the contact information below.

How: To access the online member classroom, you must register for the Abibitumi Kasa site athttp://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/register.php

You’ll need to do this if you don’t have an account already.

If you already have an account at the site, login at this link: http://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/login.php

From there click on the link to member classroom on any page at the site at class time or visit the link to the member classroom here directly at http://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/chat.php

Contact us at info@abibitumikasa.com with any questions.

Please contact your instructor Ras Ariel at lionsden2ghana2@gmail.com with any questions you may have prior to class.

Troy Anthony Davis and Useless Leadership

September 28, 2011

Jared Ball

*Courtesy Voxunion.com*

Not long after the 4 hour additional torture imposed on Troy Davis by the Supreme Court, and after the final word came that Troy was dead, I got a phone call from an angry friend.  He began by asking, “what is the value in electing or investing support for a leadership that cannot stop even this?  What is the value in investing support behind these so-called ‘movements’ that benefit useless leadership more than the people they claim to be moving for?”  And then he said, “Troy was definitely a better man than me.”

“Word?” I asked.  “That’s my word,” he said.  He took a breath to calm himself and went on.  “First of all, his last words were praise to his supporters and all those gathered around the world.  Then he had words of encouragement for the family of the cop he didn’t kill.  No way man.  I would have been of no use.”  That line struck me.  “What do you mean, ‘no use’?”  I asked.  “Everyone knows he didn’t do it,” he went on.  “Everyone knows it and yet they all use him while he dies in convenient fashion.”  “Convenient fashion?  That’s deep my man,” I said.  “Did you watch the coverage on Democracy Now! last night?” he asked.  “Every minute,” I said.  “Then you know what I mean.  The cop’s family got polite support from a man from whom they gained closure, the activists got praise from a man they were too soft to save, and Amy Goodman’s people got love for doing what they should have been doing for at least 10 years.”

“I thought they did an ok job.”  I responded.  He laughed a little.  “You notice how it is on the night Troy is killed that they gave more attention to his case than during the entire 20 years of his incarceration.  And how often do they talk about the associated issues of mass Black imprisonment?”  “Ok,” I said.  But he went on, increasingly angered, “What you saw was spectacle.  Amy Goodman used his death like CNN used Desert Storm.  You heard her say, ‘and we are the only ones here covering the moment.’  Just like CNN she was locking up 10 more years of support from the Left as the major media.”  “She didn’t do some good with coverage?” I asked.  “Whatever good she did was useless to Troy and useless to the rest of us.  And look what she did the next day; went right back to her real top stories, Israel and Palestine and mainstream journalist book writers.”

“But that wouldn’t have worked with me,” he continued.  “Because I would have used my last words to tell them to go home, to go back to the stories you prefer.  I don’t want to become a fund-raiser for you.  You didn’t tell my story enough or in ways to get your audience to get me out, I am about to die anyway, so to me, you are useless.”  “In fact,” he said, with even more venom in his voice, “I would have told everyone gathered out front, everyone listening to whatever media was covering me, that they should go become a problem, the kind of problem that keeps me alive or gets me out.  Make them storm trooper cops need that gear they brought to the rally.  Tell them that I won’t be the only one to transition tonight.  But don’t use me to add to your phony activist credentials.  If those t-shirts you have on mean something and we indeed are ‘all Troy Davis’ then we all should be prepared to die tonight.”

He noticed my silent discomfort.  He sensed my fear of my own politics.  But he was angry and relentless.  “My last words would have been to spread out, break those ranks and let Sharpton, Brock and Jealous know, no more show time for you and the God you keep praising as all ‘capable’ when he can’t keep me from the poison.  Your God is useless.  We don’t praise the same one, if we praise one at all.  My God wouldn’t let me and mine suffer while others use that suffering to enrich and reposition themselves.”  “I feel you,” I said.  “And it was even more infuriating to listen to them apologize for Obama’s inability to inter…” I could not even finish the sentence.

“Obama’s uselessness was so evident and emblematic” he interrupted.  “His supporters want to let him off the hook but Davis’ case already had federal precedent and he could have applied the 8^th or 14^th amendments to halt the execution.  A Black president, a Black attorney general, a Black supreme court justice, two Black men on the Georgia parole board, all the Black civil rights glitterati and still nothing could be done.  It is final proof, if we still needed it, of the uselessness of what is called ‘leadership’.”

I agree but only wish I had the courage to say it myself.

For Black Agenda Radio I’m Jared Ball.  On the web go to BlackAgendaReport.com.

Dr. Jared A. Ball is an associate professor of communication studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore and is the author of I Mix What I Like! A Mixtape Manifesto (AK Press).  He can be found online at: IMIXWHATILIKE.COM.

September 28, 2011 Greetings
Sorry to report that Sister Lydia Barashango is now an Ancestor.  
She made transition this morning. She lost her long battle with breast cancer.

As many of you know, Lydia was the Sister of Mumia Abu Jamal and the wife of  Ancestor Rev. Ishakamusa Barashango.  She was a registered nurse and later in life achieved her Master’s in Social Work.

The memorial arrangements are still being made, there will be one in Baltimore where she has lived recently with her son and one held in Philly. May her spirit’s journey into eternity be a smooth one, the pain she suffered no longer slows her down and may her spirit always find a peaceful place to rest…..Hotep!!  Ashe!!  Heri!!

The Egyptian Youth Uprising:

By Jalil A. Muntaqim

The Youth movement in Egypt has been defined as a revolution, but to me it resembles more of an uprising against tyranny. This historical uprising in many respects reminds me of the type of Black youth uprising that occurred in the United States against the tyranny of Jim Crow segregation. Although the civil rights movement is often referred to as a Black bourgeoisie revolution challenging segregation laws and policy, it was not until Kwame Toure (formerly Stokely Carmicheal) of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), announced that the struggle is for “Black Power”, that the civil rights movement evolved into a Black liberation struggle for young people. As a result of the growing militancy of Black youth, the federal government under the auspices of the FBI-Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO) began to violently suppress the growing militant youth movement. That movement was mostly represented by the Black Panther Party, which became the principle target of the FBI Cointelpro activities, actions that included framing members for imprisonment, running them into exile and assassination.

The Black Panther movement evolved out of the political struggles of the civil rights movement to further demand control of the socio-economic and political institutions controlling the oppressed Black community in the United States.

To date, the youth uprising in Egypt resembles more the democratic demands of the civil rights movement under the leadership of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., and the united front operations of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Urban League, Congress for Racial Equality, National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples, and Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, each of which had specific responsibilities in coordinating the civil rights movement.  The Egyptian youth movement has yet to evolve into a coordinated leadership of a united front, and because of this weakness the uprising is being defined and motivated as no more than a struggle for regime change.

The ideals of demanding democratic freedoms are laudable, but whether prospects of true democracy will manifest depends on more than simply open elections. This is especially true when the U.S. government continues to sponsor the government, especially the military, which now controls the government. Therefore, any electoral process will result in the selection of a neo-colonial representative of U.S. interests in the region. Hence, the Egyptian youth uprising will result in regime change, cosmetic change in government operations and a nominal redistribution of some of the wealth to address the most pressing issues of poverty to appease unemployed youth. In other words, the face of the regime might change but fundamentally oppressive structures will remain intact.

Very similarly, the civil rights movement in the United States initially created conditions for a more representative government, that has lead to the election of the first Black president. Obviously, the U.S. civil rights movement failed to change the fundamental conditions of oppressed peoples’ of color in the United States. This is especially significant when considering the economic disparity between blacks and whites. The disparities that existed between blacks and whites during the civil rights movement has been exacerbated by the realignment of wealth continuing to be accumulated by 1% of the American population. The rich are getting richer and the poor are growing in numbers. Ultimately, this means there needs to be a fundamental change in the capitalist system, a system that is being emulated in Egypt especially through the military’s control of the major industries in Egypt, a military that the U.S. government supports with over a billion dollars in subsidies and payments. The ouster of Hosni Mubarak will not end the military’s control of the wealth of the nation nor ensure a clear severance of this insidious relationship between the U.S. and the Egyptian military, the true rulers of the nation.

Given this reality, a good look at what is happening in Egypt can be characterized as a bourgeoisie democratic movement inspired by Egypt’s youth. Although the middle class,  as unrepresentative as they may be of the Egyptian population, is supportive of the youth seeking regime change, there is no call for ending the military control over industries, a radical redistribution of wealth or a change in the geo-political allegiance towards the United States and Israel. Hence, what is happening in Egypt cannot be characterized as a revolution.

What is the potential for revolution? Indeed, if the youth uprising post Mubarak’s ouster decides to align itself with those who want to end the U.S. neo-colonial relationship with the Egyptian government, to control the means of production, and strengthen support for the independence of Palestine, forging a united front similar to what existed in the United States during the civil rights movement, revolution is possible. Naturally, just as happened in the United States, such a development will expect to confront the full force of the government police and military to suppress the movement as was done in the United States. Therefore, it can only be hoped that the youth uprising in Egypt, builds a popular mass movement that will not be satisfied with regime change. Just as disenfranchised youth in the US cannot be satisfied merely with the election of a Black president.

In closing, permit me to say I am inspired by the youth of Egypt, Tunisia, Palestine, the struggle is hard and arduous, but from generation to generation our victory is certain. Rise-up young people, the future is calling you!

To learn more about Jalil A. Muntaqim please check his website www.freejalil.com

A Black Agenda Radio commentary by BAR editor and columnist Jared A. Ball

Having nothing much to say that will help us in the present, President Obama went back to the future in his State of the Union Address – kind of. Obama spray-painted a disconnected future while harkening back to the days of Cold War hysteria, in order to somehow explain why he won’t spend any money on anything but banks and war. “Obama’s Sputnik moment means less funding for schools and social programs that directly and indirectly improve a student’s experience.” Continue Reading

Sudan: The Price of Separation

By: Nisrin Elamin

During this week, the people of Southern Sudan will cast their votes in a historic referendum to determine whether to secede from the North, likely becoming Africa’s newest independent nation. The date for this referendum was set six years ago, during the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) ending a 22-year civil war between north and south. The extraordinary voter turnout and jubilation at the polls this week reflects the desire of so many to free themselves from decades of oppression and marginalisation by successive Northern-dominated regimes. After enduring a brutal war in which two million people were killed and four million more were displaced, it is clear that the people of Southern Sudan are ready to become first-class citizens of their own sovereign nation.

As a northern Sudanese living in the diaspora, I am experiencing this historic moment with mixed emotions. I feelhopeful and inspired by a people who are inching closer towards their dream of self-determination. The demands of the Southern Sudanese liberation struggle represent the Sudan many of us in the North want: A nation in which wealth and power is more equitably distributed and where everyone, regardless of ethnicity, faith, or gender is treated with respect and dignity.

The impending secession of Southern Sudan should also serve as a wake-up call for us to recommit ourselves to the struggle for democratic change within our soon-to-be, newly drawn borders. The balkanisation of African states can be devastating, because it makes them more vulnerable to neo-colonial exploitation and undermines their political sovereignty, so we must ask why it has come to this.

The fact is, the Sudanese government failed to make unity a viable option for Southerners. Over the past six years, rather than making strides towards equitably sharing wealth and political power with the South, the Khartoum regime strengthened its grip at the expense of the majority of its citizens. The peripheral regions of Darfur and the South remain particularly neglected and underdeveloped.

A vote for secession will give the South control of about 80 per cent of Sudan’s current oil production of 490,000 barrels a day. This will represent a drastic shift from the 50-50 share between the Sudanese government and the Government of Southern Sudan set for the interim period, following the signing of the CPA. Meanwhile, the burden of these potential losses, are likely to be carried by those already marginalised in Northern Sudan. In the days leading up to this referendum for instance, the Sudanese government raised the price of fuel and sugar in preparation for the nearly 70 per cent oil revenue losses, which are expected once the South secedes. According to economic experts, the new price increases reflect the ‘price of separation’ from the country’s south.

These price increases have already caused suffering in the war-torn region of Darfur, where basic food items such as grains and vegetables are becoming more expensive as transportation costs rise. For the millions of Darfurians still living in the squalor of camps and dependent on food aid, an increase in fuel prices also has implications on food delivery and access to water among the displaced.

Sudan is currently sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest oil producer, behind Nigeria and Angola, providing China with 30 per cemt of the oil that fuels its factories. And yet very little of Sudan’s oil profits have benefited its people. Instead, oil companies, primarily from China and Malaysia, have been providing the technology to explore the oil, while sharing the profits with the elites in power. Khartoum’s regime is said to have siphoned off as much as 40 per cent of total oil revenue, lining its own pockets through various forms of mis-pricing, instead of taking on the task of developing vast regions of the country that have been neglected for decades.

When a regime driven by greed loses its grip on power, it tends to tighten that grip before losing control. President Omar Al-Bashir’s latest remarks on the eve of this referendum, demonstrate this tendency quite vividly. In the days leading up to the vote, he announced that were the South to secede, he would change the constitution in the North to impose Sharia law and ensure that Islam and Arabic are the official religion and language, respectively. He also declared that the 1.5 million Southern Sudanese living in the north would lose citizenship rights and be removed from all public service positions, thereby perpetuating the marginalisation and exclusion Southern Sudanese people fought against for decades.

The people of Sudan belong to over 597 ethnic groups and speak over 200 languages and dialects. Of those ethnic groups, approximately 60 per cent identify as indigenous African and 40 per cent as Arab. 70 per cent of Sudan is Muslim, 25 per cent follow indigenous traditions and 5 per cent are Christian. If the South secedes, these demographics will shift, but the cultural diversity and religious pluralism of the country will remain intact. People who identify as indigenous Africans and do not speak Arabic as their first language will continue to constitute a majority in the north. And while most are Muslim, many do not adhere to the practices and interpretations of Islam put forth by the ruling elite. Forcefully imposing a mono-cultural national identity is therefore, a dangerous project, which could potentially lead to future demands for secession.

As we witness the people of Southern Sudan cast their votes on this historic occasion, it is therefore my hope that we in the north will organise ourselves, around an alternative project which recognises our people’s diversity as its strength. While the referendum represents a failure on our government’s behalf to make unity a viable option, it also represents our own complicity and silence around policies that, if left unchallenged, could ultimately lead to the further fracturing of our nation. We cannot however, rely on outsiders with a variety of agendas and motives, to challenge these policies for us. It must come from within, with the support and solidarity of those who respect Sudanese sovereignty and have the best interest of all Sudanese people at heart.